Effective feedback helps students to improve their learning by providing them with specific information on what needs improvement and how to proceed. As students begin to understand the powerful effect that feedback has on their learning, they increasingly request teachers to provide this information.

Teachers can help students become increasingly less dependent on external sources of feedback (from teachers and peers), and gradually become more autonomous (self-assessment). By teaching students how to develop descriptive feedback based on learning goals and success criteria, teachers promote students’ ability to monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and set appropriate goals.

"In giving students descriptive feedback, you have modeled the kind of thinking you want them to do as self-assessors."Chappuis (2005)

How can teachers use feedback to help students to develop self-assessment skills and become independent learners?

The role of feedback in developing students’ self-assessment skills (1:04 – 1:24)The ability to identify what is being done well, what needs to improve, and how to improve is critical to self-assessment. These skills are dependent on the student knowing the goals of the learning, and what success looks like.Early in their development as autonomous learners, students will rely more heavily on the teacher for feedback, and may need help from the teacher to identify next steps in their learning and set goals. It is during the provision of this feedback that teachers have the opportunity not only to provide direction for the students, but to teach them, through explicit modelling and instruction, the skills of self-assessment and goal setting, to become more independent.To help students become skilled at self-assessment, teachers can:

provide students feedback on the quality of their peer- and self-assessments

teach students how to use feedback to determine next steps and set goals.(Adapted from Rolheiser & Ross, 2000).

Using feedback to help students become more independent learners (1:24 – 6:02)The following clips show teachers using feedback and other assessment for learning practices to develop students’ ability to monitor and improve their learning:

Modeling descriptive feedback and the assessment process (01:27)

Looking at exemplars of work together (01:52)

Developing and using self-assessment tools, (e.g., templates and checklists) (02:14)

Having students peer assess and discussing what and how to improve (02:58)

Having students use strategies to self-assess their work, (e.g., traffic lighting, targeting or thumbs up) (03:43)

Encouraging students to act on feedback for homework with home support (04:48)

Having students maintain a feedback or learning log to monitor progress (04:59)

Asking students to complete an exit card at the end of a lesson (05:38)